The present invention relates to office furniture units, and in particular to a front removable lock therefore.
Lock arrangements for office furniture units, such as desks, credenzas, file cabinets, storage cabinets, and the like, are generally well known in the art. Front removable locks, such as those disclosed in publications by Chicago Lock Co., National Lock Hardware, Engineered Security Products, and Best, as noted in the Disclosure Statement, include a mechanism to remove and replace the tumbler assembly when required for repair, or to rekey the lock.
Heretofore, front removable locks have required a special key or a special tool to remove the tumbler assembly, which can be somewhat inconvenient to use. Such locks have a rather complex construction which is expensive to manufacture, and typically difficult to maintain and/or repair. Prior front removable locks have required a rather wide housing, such that the mating clearance hole in the front of the furniture unit must be rather large, in the nature of 3/4 of an inch or greater. As a result, such locks are not particularly adapted for use in conjunction with compact, in-top lock arrangements, wherein the lock is concealed within the interior of the top of the furniture unit.